Bottle breaking tool



Dec. 6, 1938. E. 'A. mz 2,138,931

BOTTLE BREAKING TOOL Filed May 18. 1935 Patented Dec. 6, 1938 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE norm nnsaxma r001.

11 A. Min, Chicago, 11!. Application May 18, ms, Serial No. 22.186 a Claim (CI. 83-93) The present invention is in the nature of an instrument or tool for breaking empty bottles. Tavern keepers and others who serve alcoholic drinks from bottles on which the government revenue tax has been paid are required by law to break the empty bottle as soon as its contents have been withdrawn, to prevent the bottle being illegally refilled. And where the smashing of the bottle is effected by the blow of an ordinary m hammer or like tool, the glass fragments and chips of course iiy in every direction, and not only involve time and labor in sweeping them up, but present a source of possible injury to the eyes or hands of the operator or by-standers.

5 A glass liquor bottle may be effectively and legally destroyed against the possibility of refilling and reuse by breaking the neck of the bottle alone; and with this in mind I have devised a simple tool for use by bar tenders and an the like, one purpose or object of which is to provide a handy and eflective means for destroying an empty bottle by splitting or otherwise destraying the integrity of the neck of the bottle,

and another purpose or obiect of which is to. 5,; provide, in such a means, auxiliary means whereby the scattering of the fragments and chips is prevented.

Still other obiects and attendant advantages of the invention will be apparent from the folgg lowing detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing in whichz- Fig, l is a vertical axial section, with certain parts appearing in elevation.

Mg. 2 is an enlarged cross-section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawing, in designates a hollow holder, preferably of tubular form, having centrally apertured upper and lower end walls ii and 82, respectively, the holder ill being preferably encased in a handle piece i3.of wood. cork, hard rubber, or other suitable material. ll designates a bottle neck splitter in the form of a wedge block, preferably a four-sided structure as of iron or steel, the lower pointed end of which is adapted to enter the neck of a bottle B. This wedge block M is supplied with a shank comprising, in the present instance, a stem I! having a threaded lower end screwing into a tapped 50 hole in the base of the wedge block I and a head ii on the stem I! that has a loose sliding lit in the holder ID. The stem it has a limited play through the aperture of the lower end wall i2 of the holder.

II Reciprocable withinthe holder II is a hammer,

comprising in the present instance a head II that has a loose sliding flt in the holder M, a stem l8 connected to the head and extending through and guided by the aperture in the upper end wall i I of the holder, and a knob or handle it on the upper end of thestem l8.

Secured to the lower end of the holder l0, as by the threaded joint shown, or otherwise, is a substantially semi-spherical hood 2| which surrounds the wedge block I.

22 designates an open top vessel that is preferably employed, in which the bottle B is seated prior to its destruction. The lower end portion of the hood 2| preferably enters the upper end portion of the vessel 22, as, shown, so that any fragments or chips that may strike the inner surface of the hood 2| are deflected by the latter into the vessel 22.

The manner in which the tool is used is probably obvious from the foregoing description of its structural features, but may be briefly described as follows.

The empty bottle B is first placed in the vessel 22. The user, grasping the handle I3 with one hand, inserts the wedge block i4 into the open neck of the bottle until it comes to rest in the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1. In thus positioning the wedge block in the bottle neck.

the holder i0 is lowered until it comes to rest on the base of the wedge block, which slightly elevates the head it within the holder, as shown by full lines in Fig. 1. With the other hand the user grasps theknob l9 and raises the hammer head IT to approximately the top of the holder and then forces it down with a sudden sharp blow, so that the head li, striking on the head i6, drives the wedge block i4 downwardly, splitting the bottle neck. The fragments and chips eitherrdropdirectly into the vessel 22 or such of them as may fly outwardly against the hood 2| are by the latter deflected into the vessel 22, so that all the fragments, chips and glass dust that may result from the fracture of thebottle neck are collected within the holder and are not allowed to fly in every direction, littering up the bar or floor where the breaking operation is performed.

It will be apparent that the apertured end become accidentally separated.

From the foregoing it will be seen that my invention provides a very simple, inexpensive and 2 2,138,981 handy tool for wrecking empty bottles by breakvice, and hence I reserve all such variations, modifications and mechanical equivalents as fall within the spirit and purview of the claims.

I claim:

1. An instrument for breaking bottles and confining the chips, comprising an open top vessel for seating a bottle therein, a hollow holder, a tapered block adapted to engage with the neck of a bottle in said vessel, said block having a shank slidable in said holder, a hammer a'lidable in said holder and adapted, by a blow on said shank, to cause said block to shatter the bottle neck, and a depending hood attached to the lower end of said holder and'substantially closing the upper end of said vessel. g

2- An instrument for breaking bottles and confining the chips, comprising an open top vessel I for seating a bottle therein, atubular holder having centrally apertured upper and lower end walls, a wedge-shaped block the narrow end of which is adapted to enter a bottle neck, said block having a stem extending through the aperture of the lower end wall and a head on said stem, a hammer comprising a head slidable in said holder and a stem extending through and guided by the aperture of the upper end wall.

and a hood attached to the lower end of said holder and surrounding said block, the lower endof said hood entering the upper end of said vessel. 20

EMERICH A. MIRZ. 

